Santana – Santana

Still the best digital version of this album anywhere. Same mastering as the Mastersound gold CD (by Boutote) but with the addition of the bonus tracks (mastered by Anesini). I'll take this over MFSL's gold CD and SACD editions which are okay but have a noticeably harder sound from the upper midrange.

Many praise this release very highly, but I dont think its perfect.
Some tracks seem EQ too low, a typical habit of MFSL as of the recent decades revival of the company. Creating a sort of muffled sound occasionally. Not helping is the at times inaccurate soundstage. It can be great but falters depending on the track. Maybe caused by the recording itself?
The bass is very hefty though and probably the best its ever been on vinyl.
I would be interested in hearing the Kevin Gray cut of the album, as well as a US original.

Equipment Used:
Rega RP1 with Paratrace tipped Nagaoka MP-200
Cyrus 2 Amplifier
System Fidelity SF-3050 Tower Speakers
Custom made HQ Speaker Cables

BUYER BEWARE: My copy of this release has pinholes through the playing surface.
My advice is to rip this release before the pinholes increase & they become problematic during playback of the CD.

Soa melhor do que se espera de um disco de 1969 numa prensagem mono fold down brasileira. Na Soul Sacrifice os órgãos fazem sua cabeça rodar.

Sounds better than expected considering it's a 1969 mono fold down brazilian pressing. In Soul Sacrifice the organs makes your head spin.

This is most definitely a step up from the 2008 MFSL 1-LP pressing of this album! That one for some odd reason was really subdued and not very dynamic at all. Fortunately, I was able to sell that one. But this one... WOW! what a difference. Much more dynamic and as others have stated the bass is quite room filling now. FWIW, my system is super sensitive to masterings that affect the image and soundstage. So, I did a comparison between this pressing and a very early Columbia 2-Eye pristine pressing.

Now, here is where my system reveals things like this. I would say that yes, the original US pressing is ever so slightly more 'Natural' sounding. BUT... without screwing up the image or EQ, somehow MFSL has really beefed up the dynamics and soundstage immensely which makes this one quite engaging. Is the original a tad more natural or 'organic' sounding? Yes... but, in this specific case I feel the very slight 'trade off' is worth having this excellent and powerful pressing.

As a contrast, for example... The recent Pink Floyd Animals that was done recently was mastered very well and came out extremely detailed and clear sounding. Many really liked it. BUT... on my system, although I did appreciate the greater clarity and such, the soundstage to me just didn't sound nearly as 'organic' or natural as the 1st UK pressing. Yes, the UK pressing is very dark and some say quite murky. But, at least for my taste, I actually prefer (on my system) the more naturally placed instruments in the soundstage of the original. The new one just sounded a little artificial, like it was more 'manufactured' (which of course it is 😊) But, for me personally, considering the extremely moody and atmospheric sound of the album, I thought that was more preserved in the original. So, there is a contrasting example to what I was saying above about the MFSL 2-45 LP pressing of Santana

My System:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9ja3UKob7tppW4Y38

Have the empty Japan Promo box for these CD reissues available. Box has bends in lid. Pix available. Reach out if required.

This sounds great. Record is flat and quiet; mastering is top notch.

If you want enjoy some Santana, at the finest level, purchase a NM copy of this album. It simply does not get any better. Tom

Sorry I do not get it. This is not a 2023 reissue as it is dated 2015 and repressed since then again and again. It is even numbered continously.

A fantastic job by MofI. I compared against my OG and this pressing is more articulate, crisp drums…masterpiece! I dare you to find a better pressing. The persuasion sounds amazing! Analogheads will scoff but they don’t get it! This sounds better than the OG in every way.